


It Doesn't Hurt Anymore

by Iamacarrot



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Apologies, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Hurt/Comfort, Leo gets slightly emotional, Mikey doesn't mind, Minor Violence, Mistakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 07:16:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16805983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamacarrot/pseuds/Iamacarrot
Summary: It wasn't every day that Mikey had to be the strong one for his brothers. Mainly because his brothers had never felt the need to call on him for it. So, understandably, it shocked Mikey when one of his most emotionally elusive brothers knocked on his door one night, regret and sadness clean on their face.





	It Doesn't Hurt Anymore

Mikey sighed contendedly as he watched TV in his room, wrapped up like a swaddled baby on his bed. Things had been a little shaky in the mutant household, so Mikey had decided it was best to stay in his room while everyone calmed down.

Considering how he was the main reason everything had been shaky in the first place.

It was an honest accident that led to this tense atmosphere. Leo and Raph had begun arguing about something, as usual, and Mikey had happened to be walking past them as things started to escalate. Now, very seldom did Donnie and Mikey feel the need to interfere with Raph and Leo's arguments, since it wasn't their business, and it would only get someone hurt in the long run. Knowing this, Mikey continued to walk, stopping once he heard Leo begin shouting a few insults that included words that shouldn't really be mentioned. This drove Raph to scream similar insults back, and Mikey knew that the argument was yay close to becoming a physical battle.

Yet, he still chose to go against his usual, unspoken rule.

"Guys! Don't do this! You're just gonna make things worse!" Mikey had shouted, earning aggressive curses from his brothers before they lunged at each other. Mikey groaned, crossing his arms and watching his brothers roll on the floor like feral cats. These two could become huge toddlers when they wanted to.

Since nothing too out-of-bounds had happened in the first few seconds, Mikey decided to roll his eyes and walk off, freezing once more as he heard the familiar sound of Leo's sword being drawn.

When he thought back on it, Mikey admitted that his choice to turn around and stop Leo was a bad idea, but he wasn't just gonna let Leo slice Raph into pieces! So one thing led to another, and Mikey was in front of Raph, preparing to knock Leo's sword out of the way, and screaming in immense pain as Leo's sword cut into his right arm, and grazed his right leg.

Now, some would say that being slashed with a mystic sword would feel just as bad as being slashed by a normal sword.

And to those who do, Mikey says "Screw you."

Being hit with Leo's sword was perhaps the most painful thing Mikey had experienced. It was so painful, in fact, that Mikey had fallen to the floor, stunned, and unable to scream. With each second, Mikey had begun to sway in and out of consciousness, and he had started hearing his brothers shouting and arguing in panic, trying to find some way to keep him from falling out. Through all of this, Mikey had simply taken his injuries as a reminder as to why it was best to leave Raph and Leo be.

His brothers, of course, had different views on the matter.

Mikey could hear the anger and horror in Donnie and Raph's voices as they screamed at Leo to leave Mikey be, saying that Leo was unfit to be around Mikey at the time. Mikey had disagreed with that statement mentally, but, since he was unable to talk, he decided to keep from making his oldest brothers angrier by trying to even physically defend Leo. Which was something that seemed to happen a lot. Sure, Leo could be a douche, but Mikey never found it upon himself to refuse Leo the ability to apologize and make amends. It rarely happened either way, but it still didn't bother Mikey at all.

Mikey had never held a personal grudge over being hurt by his brothers. Sure, he would be upset for an hour to half a day, but he would always forgive his brothers. He had known that they were just moody, or being playful, or even that they were just like that personally. Nothing to be upset about there. Even if the event happened not even six hours ago.

So, without any more thoughts on the matter, Mikey returned his focus to his TV, enjoying the silly, colorful, mind-numbing moving pictures on the small box. Mikey was comfy, at that moment. Calm, collected, and happy. He expected nothing to happen during these next few hours, or even the next two days, which is why he jumped slightly at the sound of knocking on his door.

"It's unlocked!" Mikey announced, smiling widely as Leo walked in.

"Leo! I didn't expect to see you!" Mikey chimed, moving to sit up, and grunting in slight pain as he remembered that his scars were still fresh, and still wrapped in bandages.

Leo cringed in response to the sound, rubbing his arm and looking to the ground. Mikey hummed, adjusting himself so that he could sit comfortably without putting too much pressure on his injuries. After doing so, Mikey encouraged Leo to come sit next to him, carefully scooting over in order to give Leo enough room.

"Watch TV with me!" Mikey excitedly offered, allowing Leo to shift and be as quiet as he pleased.

That's what made for optimal TV watching, anyways.

"I was just finishing up an episode of Pie Makers! There was this really tasty looking pear pie, and I'm super excited to make-"

"Shut up." Leo hissed.

Mikey smiled, nodding and returning his focus to the TV. Leo huffed in response, looking to the small patch of bandage that was poking out from underneath Mikey's covers. Without warning, Leo reached out and aggressively grabbed Mikey's arm.

"Ow! Why did you do that?" Mikey asked, pushing Leo's hand away.

Leo gave no reply, looking to the TV. With a sigh, a few seconds of slightly angry/confused looks towards Leo, and a final shrug of acceptance, Mikey looked to the TV as well. Leo grunted, kicking Mikey off of the bed for no apparent reason.

"What did I do?!" Mikey asked.

"Why did you jump in front of him?!" Leo shouted back.

Mikey silenced, thinking over the question before shrugging.

"Oh, don't give me that! You knew good and well what I was about to do, yet you still went to protect him! Were you TRYING to make me look bad?!" Leo questioned.

Mikey shook his head, sitting up with a struggle and crawling back onto the bed, yelping as he was kicked back off.

"Then why did you do it?!" Leo asked.

"I didn't want you to hurt him!" Mikey replied, moving over to the right before climbing back onto the bed.

"So you decided to get hurt and make me look like the biggest douchebag in the world! That's rich!" Leo accused.

"Believe what you want. I'm just telling you that I did it to keep you two from hurting each other even more. You've never drawn your sword and struck him in a fight like that unless you're sparring with him, and I wasn't gonna let today be the first day that you did!" Mikey huffed.

Leo growled, pushing Mikey against the bed's headboard and looking Mikey straight in the eye, seeing no malintent, and letting Mikey go.

"I still don't believe you." Leo announced.

"And that's perfectly fine with me. It's your choice to be mad at me, and I have no place to tease you about it." Mikey replied.

Leo sneered, lying down and pulling Mikey with him.

"Stop being so philosophical. It's giving me a headache." Leo ordered halfheartedly.

"I'm not sure how me being philosophical is giving you a headache, but, I'll stop if it really does bother you." Mikey hummed.

With no words, Leo shifted so that Mikey could lay in a comfortable position.

Things weren't supposed to go this way. Leo simply planned to show Raph a thing or two, and brag about it for the next week or so. But, of course, Leo had to be stopped by Mikey, whose heart was too big to even fit in his body. And all of that heart led to this. Leo feeling awful, and cuddling with Mikey in an attempt to convince Leo that he, himself, wasn't in the wrong. Even though he knew he was.

The thing that stunned Leo about all of this, however, was that Mikey wasn't lashing out, or crying, or upset in any way, shape, or form. The little goofball was just... enjoying this. Enjoying his time with his big brother. Time that the two never spent enough of with each other. Time that Leo wasted in feeling sorry for himself. Time that Leo spent trying to be "cool," or "better," in a sense, instead of paying attention to the only brother of his that happened to look up to him, if only slightly.

Which Leo hated.

Why couldn't Mikey be like Donnie? Sarcastic, calm, and nowhere near playful? The two were becoming very nearly one and the same. Donnie had gotten Mikey interested in science, and had started teaching Mikey how to successfully build more than artistic statues. In turn, Mikey had begun teaching Donnie about the rich history of art, and how to successfully make art in his spare time.

Leo couldn't compete with that! Besides, the two were always with each other! They loved each other more than they loved themselves! And, if he were being truthful with himself, Leo had begun to envy Donnie. How the genius had managed to bond with Mikey so well. How he had managed to make Mikey's eyes shine like stars when they were together. How he always brought a smile to Mikey's face, without needing to try.

Donnie always had something new to offer to Mikey, which made the things that Raph and Leo gave Mikey look like novelty toys.

Hell, Donnie had given Mikey an anti-gravity belt for no apparent reason! Which earned Donnie more than enough hugs and kisses of appreciation.

If he had a say in who Mikey should look up to most-

"Leo... you're hurting me..." Mikey suddenly whimpered.

Leo tensed, realizing that, in his envious thinking state, he had started to angrily squeeze Mikey's arm.

"Sorry." Leo muttered, letting Mikey go.

"...You don't have to be so upset. I'm perfectly fine. I'll heal, and I'll be back to fighting bad guys in no time!" Mikey assured.

"Don't lie. We both know that you're in pain." Leo huffed.

"Why do you do that?" Mikey asked.

"Do what?" Leo replied.

"Why do you assume that everything I say has a negative hint to it? I don't blame you for what happened. It was an accident. If anything, this happened because of me." Mikey asked.

Leo groaned. Mikey shouldn't be taking the blame for this. No matter how true things were.

"Don't say that. This was all because of me. I drew my sword-"

"And I jumped in front of it. It was my decision to interfere, and getting struck was the consequence for it." Mikey interrupted.

Oh god.

There goes that awful word.

Mikey didn't need to say that word.

He was just a kid! He shouldn't need consequences! He should be carefree, and happy, and unaware of life's struggles!

...Which is what he was... seven years ago.

"Don't get so caught up on it. Let's just leave it be." Mikey advised, patting Leo's plastron gently.

"I don't blame you." Mikey repeated, placing a gentle kiss on Leo's cheek before snuggling up against Leo.

"Just sleep it off." Mikey sighed.

Leo opened his mouth to reply, but stopped. No matter what Leo said, or did, or thought, Mikey would always forgive him. Would always reassure him that everything was okay.

And would always love him.

"Because it doesn't hurt anymore." Mikey whispered.

"Yeah. Not anymore." Leo sighed.


End file.
